Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll

Many bands have promised to bring intelligence back into rockÃ¢â‚¬â„¢nÃ¢â‚¬â„¢roll, but few offer it quite so readily as on the debut album by Art Brut Ã¢â‚¬â€œ even if itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little too frequently brains of the somewhat smart-arsed variety. This is down to Art Brut band-leader Eddie Argos, a loud-mouthed student type in vintage blazer, whose half-sung, half-bellowed vocal Ã¢â‚¬â€œ rambling, witticism-strewn missives about beautiful girls, modern art, and Top Of The Pops Ã¢â‚¬â€œ surfs unsteadily atop a musical backdrop of cranked-up garage-rock clatter, distorted rockabilly, and good honest first-wave punk-rock.

ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an acquired taste, sure Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not everyone will want to shriek along to ArgosÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ somewhat pretentious proclamation "Popular culture/ No longer applies to me!" on "Bad Weekend". But every now and then, Art BrutÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pseudy side slides into sharp focus and turns out a song like "Formed A Band" Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a hilarious indie-rock manifesto that sees Argos declare a wish to be "the boy, the man/ Who writes the song that makes Israel and Palestine get along". And if that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t warm the cockles of your heart, perhaps "Emily Kane" - dedicated to ArgosÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ childhood sweetheart Ã¢â‚¬â€œ will. --Louis Pattison